University of Tennessee alumnus Larry Patrick, managing partner of station brokerage and investment firm Patrick Communications LLC, has given $1 million to the College of Communication and Information in order to establish the Herb Howard Distinguished Professorship in Media Management and Law at the Knoxville, Tenn.-based school.
A release explained that the professorship’s namesake, Herb Howard, is a well-respected journalism and electronic media professor emeritus at the school. A native of Johnson City, Tenn., he began his broadcasting career in high school, and would eventually become the first weatherman for the town’s television station WJHL. In a long and varied career, he earned a doctorate in mass communication from Ohio University and served as a research consultant for the National Association of Broadcasters.
According to a release from UT, Patrick’s is the largest single gift in the college’s history. To recognize Patrick for his donation, the college will name its auditorium the Patrick Auditorium during its fall Board of Visitors meeting, Nov. 8.